Ashgrove House awarded Wiltshire’s first Outstanding rating by CQC

Purton nursing home Ashgrove House has received an Outstanding rating in their latest report from the CQC, making it the first and only nursing home in Wiltshire and the surrounding area to score so highly.

It is estimated that of the approximately 70,000 care homes in the UK, only 0.5% currently have the top rating of Outstanding.

An inspector from the CQC, the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, visited Ashgrove House unannounced in January and found the service provided by the home to be outstanding in terms of being caring, responsive and well-led.

The report produced following the visit highlighted the positive effect the home’s ethos of ‘treat people how you would like to be treated’, combined with excellent, caring staff, has on residents. Their focus is on making people feel valued, supported and included with an aim to enhance overall wellbeing. It recognised that Ashgrove House supports people to achieve their aspirations, such as increased independence, using an example of how the care has helped a previously bed-bound resident get up and become more mobile.

The inspector spoke to a number of staff, residents and family members about the service provided, and received a resounding response that people felt safe, staff were well-trained and well-supported and family members knew that their loved one were being looked after excellently.

Residents and their families were quoted as telling the inspector that ‘it’s a lovely place, I’m very happy here’, ‘this is my home’ and ‘we couldn’t do better if [family member] was at home. The care is exemplary.’ One staff member also said, ‘if my mum needed care, I’d be happy for her to come here.’

Food was also praised in the report, with meals described as ‘appetising and well presented’ and that ‘people were supported to maintain good health and had access to appropriate healthcare services’.

Keith Trowbridge, co-owner of Ashgrove House with his wife Mary, said: “We were thrilled to find out that Ashgrove House had received such a high rating and to have been awarded Outstanding for providing a caring, responsive and well-led service. When we opened the home just over 30 years ago we set out to achieve something better than what else was available and now we’ve got official recognition of this.

“We’re proud that we’ve got it right and that the staff share the same values and vision as us. Ashgrove wouldn’t be what it is without the support of the whole team. We select all our staff carefully to ensure that they’re passionate about care and helping people live according to their wishes as this is our residents’ homes, not a place of work.

“We’re regularly looking at how we can add extras to enhance our residents’ time with us, such as regular massages which can help alleviate aches and pains, as well as Snoezelen therapy, a multisensory therapy which has been shown to help people with dementia.”

Ashgrove House specializes in care for the elderly and people with dementia, as well as those with physical disabilities and terminal illnesses aged 30 and above.